Marcel Léger
Encyclopedia
Marcel Léger was a Canadian politician and a supporter of Quebec sovereignty
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
Background
He was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
on June 8, 1930. He is the father of Pollster Jean-Marc Léger and Parti Québécois (PQ)
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
MNA
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
Nicole Léger
Nicole Léger
Nicole Léger is a politician and the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Pointe-aux-Trembles from 1996 to 2006 and recently elected back as member of the Parti Québécois in a by-election on May 12, 2008.-Background:She was born on March 12, 1955 in Montreal, Quebec and is...
.
Provincial Politics
Léger successfully ran as the PQ candidate in the provincial district of LaFontaineLaFontaine
LaFontaine is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal in the northeastern corner of the island north of Autoroute 40 and south of Rivière des Prairies...
in 1970
Quebec general election, 1970
The Quebec general election of 1970 was held on April 29, 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The former Legislative Assembly had been renamed the "National Assembly" in 1968...
. He was re-elected in 1973
Quebec general election, 1973
The Quebec general election of 1973 was held on October 29, 1973 to elect members to National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, and the Union Nationale .The Liberals won a...
, 1976
Quebec general election, 1976
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada...
and 1981
Quebec general election, 1981
The Quebec general election of 1981 was held on April 13, 1981, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Claude Ryan.The PQ won re-election despite...
. He became Minister of the Environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
in 1976
Quebec general election, 1976
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada...
, but was dropped from the Cabinet
Executive Council of Quebec
The Executive Council of Quebec is the cabinet of the government of Quebec, Canada....
in 1982.
Federal Politics
Léger was leader of the Parti nationaliste du QuébecParti nationaliste du Québec
-Origins:For decades, the Social Credit Party's Quebec wing, the Ralliement créditiste, attracted many Quebec nationalists as a party that could represent Quebec's interests in the Canadian House of Commons...
from September 14, 1983 to May 17, 1984. In that capacity, he tried to establish a federal wing for the PQ and represent Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's interests in Ottawa. However PQ Leader René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
conducted a Beau Risque
Beau risque
In Quebec politics, le beau risque is a political catch phrase describing the "risk" the Parti Québécois took in asking Quebecers to support Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney and accept the Constitution Act, 1982...
policy and refused to endorse Léger’s attempt.
Retirement
Léger re-entered the Cabinet as Minister of TourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
in 1984. However he lost his seat in 1985
Quebec general election, 1985
The Quebec general election of 1985 was held on December 2, 1985, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by former premier Robert Bourassa, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by premier Pierre-Marc Johnson.This election...
.